smbclient

smbclient is a versatile command-line tool provided by Samba that allows you to interact with SMB/CIFS shares on remote servers. It works similarly to an FTP client, enabling you to list shares, transfer files, and execute remote commands against Windows or Samba servers. This utility is useful for both ad-hoc file transfers and scripting automated interactions with network shares.

Basic Syntax

smbclient [OPTIONS] //<server>/<share> [password]

<server>: The hostname or IP address of the server hosting the share.
<share>: The name of the share to connect to.
[OPTIONS]: Various command-line options that modify the behavior of the connection.
[password]: Optionally, you can supply the password on the command line (not recommended for security reasons).

Common Global Options

-U username: Specifies the username for authentication.
```
smbclient //server/share -U username
```
-W workgroup: Specifies the workgroup or domain.
```
smbclient //server/share -U username -W WORKGROUP
```
-I ip_address: Specifies the IP address of the server.
```
smbclient //server/share -U username -I 192.168.1.100
```
-m SMB_version: Specifies the SMB protocol version (e.g., SMB2, SMB3).
```
smbclient //server/share -U username -m SMB3
```
-d debug_level: Sets the debug level to provide more verbose output for troubleshooting.
```
smbclient //server/share -U username -d 3
```
-c "command": Runs a single command non-interactively and then exits.
```
smbclient //server/share -U username -c "ls"
```
--help: Displays usage information.

Interactive Shell Subcommands

Once connected to a share, smbclient provides an interactive shell similar to FTP. Common commands include:

File and Directory Operations

ls Lists files and directories in the current directory.
```
smb: \> ls
```
cd <directory> Changes the current directory on the remote share.
```
smb: \> cd documents
```
mkdir <directory> Creates a new directory on the remote share.
```
smb: \> mkdir newfolder
```
rmdir <directory> Removes a directory on the remote share.
```
smb: \> rmdir oldfolder
```
del <filename> Deletes a file on the remote share.
```
smb: \> del report.doc
```
get <remote_file> [local_file] Downloads a file from the remote share. If local_file is omitted, the file is saved with the same name.
```
smb: \> get data.csv
```
put <local_file> [remote_file] Uploads a file to the remote share. If remote_file is omitted, the file is saved with the same name.
```
smb: \> put localfile.txt remotefile.txt
```

df Displays free disk space on the remote share.
```
smb: \> df
```
du [directory] Shows disk usage for the specified directory or the current directory if omitted.
```
smb: \> du reports/
```

Miscellaneous Commands

help Displays a list of available commands within the interactive shell.
```
smb: \> help
```
exit or quit Exits the interactive session.
```
smb: \> exit
```

Example Usage

Listing Available Shares on a Server

To list all shares available on a server:

smbclient -L //server -U username

This command will display a list of shares, such as IPC$, print$, and user-defined shares.

To connect to a share and interact with it interactively:

smbclient //server/share -U username

Once connected, you can use commands like:

smb: \> ls
smb: \> cd documents
smb: \> get file.txt
smb: \> put localfile.txt

Non-Interactive Command Execution

To execute a command non-interactively, use the -c option:

smbclient //server/share -U username -c "ls; cd documents; get report.pdf"

Conclusion

smbclient is a powerful tool for accessing and managing SMB/CIFS shares from the command line. Its combination of global options and interactive shell commands makes it suitable for both ad-hoc file transfers and scripting automated tasks. By using options like -L, -U, and -c, and interactive commands like ls, get, and put, administrators and users can effectively manage files on remote SMB servers.

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Last updated 18 days ago